The present invention relates to a high-pressure fluid processing machine that can be effectively utilized for physically treating or opening the weave of a woven fabric of inorganic fibers or for the like. (the term "opening" as used herein meaning a "loosening a tightening mass condition of filaments composing a thread of the fabric"). Particularly, the present invention is useful for treating fabrics of smaller thicknesses and lower densities by compensating for overlapping regions that occur during high-pressure fluid processing.
Machines, which employ high-pressure fluids, are known for used in various fields, such as for cutting or drilling a slab of stone or concrete, the deburring of plastic moldings and so forth. In one type machine, high-pressure water, whose pressure In heightened to several thousand kilograms per square centimeter, is impinged onto an object to be processed, such as stone, by way of a small hole of 0.1 mm or less in diameter provided in a nozzle. Such a high-pressure water jet can be used to cut a piece from or drill the object by making use of the impulsive energy of the water.
A high-pressure fluid processing machine for processing a woven fabric of inorganic fibers by a high-pressure fluid has been proposed in commonly owned copending U.S. application Ser. No. 07/080,225 filed July 29, 1987, which is the equivalent of Japanese Unexamined Published Patent Application No. 230900/86. In the machine of application Ser. No. 080,225, a nozzle header is provided with a plurality of nozzles at prescribed intervals for impinging high-pressure fluid at the same prescribed intervals along the width of the woven fabric while the nozzle header is translationally revolved and the fabric is moved in a direction perpendicularly crossing the axis of the header. The result is that the high-pressure fluid is uniformly applied to the fabric to open or raise the fabric weave. The speed and radius of the translational revolution of the nozzle header, the interval between the nozzles, and the speed of the movement of the fabric are controlled depending on the kind and physical properties of the fabric, so that the high-pressure fluid is almost uniformly impinged onto the surface of the fabric. There are various types of woven fabrics which are made of inorganic fibers, such as fiberglass, including fabrics of dense structure having general utility, thin fabrics of thin fiberglass, and fabrics having a low density in the warp and weft of the weave. Some of these types of fabrics, however, develop problems when treated by high-pressure fluid which cannot be solved by controlling the speed and radius of the translational revolution of the nozzle head, the interval between the nozzles and the speed of the movement of the fabric; particularly the thin and low density fabrics.
FIG. 6 shows an example of the locus made on the surface of a woven fabric by a high-pressure fluid elected form one of the nozzles of the high-pressure processing machine as proposed in co-pending application 080,225, while the fabric is moved in the direction shown by the arrow. The portions A of the loop-shaped locus of the high-pressure fluid overlap with each other, as also shown in FIG. 6. Since the surface of the fabric is subjected to greater impulsive energy form the fluid at the mutually overlapping or adjoining portions of the locus than at the other portions of the fabric, the positions of the inorganic fibers of the fabric are likely to be shifted relative to each other at the mutually overlapping or adjoining portions of the locus. Such shifting of fibers becomes increasingly prevalent in smaller thickness fabrics and fabrics of low density. Thus, these certain type fabrics are no adequately treated by such a process.